The Gender Equality Plan, support for employees and students who are parents, the campaigns “We Are All Equal” and “Hate Hurts – Let’s Be Careful with Our Words”, an anti-discrimination guide, a guide on preventing sexual harassment, the establishment of the Equality Observatory, and the introduction of the role of equality officer/ representative for equality in faculties, doctoral schools and UW units are examples of measures taken at the UW in accordance with the principle of non-discrimination contained in the European Charter for Researchers. We present initiatives implemented and planned at the UW in the area of equality.
Gender Equality Plan for the UW (GEP)
This is a strategic document forming the basis for the development of equality policy at the UW. The first edition of the Gender Equality Plan has been in force since 2020, and work is currently underway on the next edition of the Inclusive Gender Equality Plan.
“Its primary aim is to ensure that the University is a safe and welcoming place for everyone, free from discrimination; a place where equality and diversity are respected. The GEP has established an institutional and procedural framework, and has also identified priority actions and the bodies responsible for their implementation in the area of equality and non-discrimination,” says Prof. Julia Kubisa, Dean of the UW’s Faculty of Sociology, lead specialist in equality research and education, and chair of the UW Working Group on the implementation of the European Charter for Researchers.
The new, inclusive Gender Equality Plan will address the needs of the academic community, understood as individuals with diverse needs and experiences. The plan was developed on the basis of a series of studies, including “Equality at the UW” and “Being a Parent at the UW”, as well as consultations with the university community.
Educational campaigns
In September 2024, Prof. Alojzy Z. Nowak, the UW Rector, launched the information and education campaign “Hate Hurts – Let’s Be Careful with Our Words”, an initiative launched by students and the University of Warsaw’s academic spokesperson for student and employee affairs. The campaign highlights the importance of word choice in academic discourse. Anyone belonging to the academic community, regardless of their position or role, may encounter hate and hate speech – particularly in this era of rapid social media growth. The campaign is one of the University’s initiatives to promote equal treatment and academic values, such as mutual respect and ethical language.
Equality education
The University of Warsaw offers a series of equality courses and workshops aimed at students, doctoral candidates and employees at the UW. The courses deepen participants’ understanding of stereotypes, discrimination and the consequences of these issues within the academic environment.
Since 2022, the training programme has been systematically expanded, including through the development of English-language versions of the courses and pilot implementations in Ukrainian, which has made them accessible to members of the University’s international community, as well as through the creation of new courses.
Four online courses are currently available: “Understanding Equality”, “The Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the University”, “Mobbing at work – prevention, recognition and responses”, and “Discrimination, Conformism and Resistance – The History and Memory of the ‘Bench Ghetto’ and Other Forms of Exclusion Within University Walls”. In-person training courses on “Equality Attitudes” and “How to Support People Who Have Experienced Sexual Violence” are also held regularly. A detailed description of the equality courses on offer can be found at rownowazni.uw.edu.pl, rownowazni.uw.edu.pl/en.
Equality observatory
The University of Warsaw Equality Observatory is the unit responsible for collecting, analysing and disseminating data on equality and diversity, including in particular gender representation at the UW. Its aim is to provide data that enables the development of evidence-based equality policies and anti-discrimination measures. On the Equality Observatory website (rownowazni.uw.edu.pl/obserwatorium-rownosci/,rownowazni.uw.edu.pl/en/equality-observatory/) you can find information on the gender breakdown among students, doctoral candidates and employees, as well as within decision-making bodies and the management of the UW.
Equality officers
Equality officers operate within faculties and units; they serve as the first point of consultation and contact for matters relating to discrimination and undesirable behaviour within a given organisational unit. The representatives work with support services and the unit’s management, provide information on the support system, equality courses and training, and foster an atmosphere of equality and respect for diversity in the day-to-day life of the faculty or unit. There are currently 35 equality representatives at the University, and the latest list can be found under the “Support” tab on the Equality Team’s website.
Systemic support for UW employees and students who are parents
“The University of Warsaw is taking steps to support the work-life balance, which includes developing childcare facilities, such as a crèche and rooms for working with children; compiling and making available in one place useful information about parenthood at the UW under the ‘Parenthood’ tab on the UW Human Resources Office website (PL, EN), amending UW documents to take into account the situation of parents who are students and lecturers, as well as grant competitions and projects aimed at researchers who are parents,” says Anna Grędzińska, the UW’s Senior Gender Equality Officer.
Plans include further development of infrastructure (short-term emergency childcare, rooms for working with children), and a survey of the needs of carers and parents at the UW. “Recommendation on the scheduling of official meetings at the University of Warsaw” has been adopted. A compilation on the legal and practical aspects of work-life balance (WLB) in an international, national, and university context has been disseminated (WLB desk research FIN), and a university-wide survey of parents’ needs at the University of Warsaw has been conducted (BEING A PARENT AT UW). Furthermore, to promote good practices in the area of WLB, good practices from units at the University of Warsaw that support the reconciliation of work, family, and private life have been compiled.
Support for women in their academic careers and in taking on decision-making roles
“We are also taking steps to ensure a balanced representation of both genders in teams and decision-making bodies, as well as fair access to knowledge and privileges, which will enable the full potential of UW employees to be realised,” explains Anna Grędzińska.
Measures taken to support women’s career development include:
- collecting and publishing equality data and systematically monitoring the representation of women and men among students, doctoral candidates and employees, as well as in decision-making bodies and the UW’s management;
- the establishment of a networking group for female doctoral candidates and mentoring support for young female researchers;
- the collection and dissemination of good practices aimed at supporting women’s academic careers.
Among the planned initiatives is the adoption of recommendations regarding balanced gender representation in decision-making bodies and expert panels, including in chair positions, as well as at the UW’s academic events.